Station indicator



July 21, 1936. R. BRINEY STATION INDICATOR Filed Nov. 5,- 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet l A TTORNE Y.

y 1936. R. BRINEY v 7 2,048,176

STATION INDICATOR Filed Nov. 5, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 3 5 Y INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

July 21, 1936.

R. BRINEY v 2,048,176

STATION INDICATOR Filed Nov. 5, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 A TTORNE Y.

Patented July 21 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 10 Claims.

This invention relates to station indicators or changeable signs adapted to indicate in railway carsconsecutively the next station at which the train will stop.

It is the object of this invention to provide an indicator. of this type which is mounted in the car and shall automatically and visibly show the name. of the next station.

It .is a further object of this invention to provide an indicator which is very simple in construction and is very easily installed in the car without extended alterations thereon and which may be operated from the outside thereof by very simple and inexpensive means. 7

It is another object to provide such an indicator that will operate when the car is moving in opposite directions.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel combinations and. arrangements of parts which will become cleareras the description progresses and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which V p Fig. 1 is a front view of a station indicator embodying the invention, with the front cover and.

window removed.

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view showing the reversing spring mechanism taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view on line .33 of Fig. 1 showing the reversing gear mechanism.

;Fig. 4 i s a sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. l showing the starting cam mechanism.

Fig. 5is a sectional view on line 55 of Fig. 1 showing the web rolls and brakes.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the starting switchmechanism.

vFig. 7 is a perspective view of the reversing switch mechanism. 7

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the motor brake operating mechanism.

IFig. 9 is a front view on the line 9-9 of Fig. 1 showing the motor brake.

Fig.l' is a sectional detail view on line Ill-l0 .of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view'of the complete station indicator in'its casing.

Fig. 12-is a diagram showing the engagement of theoperating lever by strikers at the various stations by cars moving in different directions.

Fig? 13 is 'a' view partly in section and partly in elevation showing the operating parts of the improved indicator mechanism in engagement witha striker on a station platform.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 11 of the drawings, 50

represents the housing in which the station indicator is enclosed. It is preferably made of sheet metal and of rectangular shape in all three dimensions. The front opening is closed by a sheet metal cover shown in Fig. 11. It is provided 5 with a window 52 behind which the station names appear consecutively. The part 53 of the cover which is not open is preferably used for advertising matter.

Housing 50 is preferably mounted on the top transverse wall of a railway car near the ceiling where it may easily be observed by the passengers. From the right side of the housing 50 near its upper edge as viewed in Fig. 11 a shaft l4 projects.

It extends through the wall of the car and its 15 outer end terminates in a two armed handle lever I3 perpendicular to the shaft l4. This handle when turned clockwise operates the indicator mechanism presently to be described.

At the end of each station platform in the system stationary fingers or strikers 41' and 41a are suitably mounted, on posts 48 near the edge of the platform 49 as shown in Fig. 13. These strikers are positioned singly in the path of handle l3 on the moving car so as to be struck thereby when the car moves past it to operate the indicator in order to display the name of the next station in the window.

This indicator mechanism is shown in Fig. 1.

It includes a reversible universal electric motor I adapted to be energized by alternating or direct current. This motor drives a shaft 4 by means of a worm gear speed reducer 2. This shaft is perpendicular to the motor armature and carries at one end a motor brake wheel 3 and at the opposite end a spur gear 5 which meshes with a similar gear 6 driving a shaft 35 mounted in bearings 43. Between these bearings a reversing spring cam 36 is mounted on shaft 35, and on the end opposite to gear 6 a pinion is mounted (Figs. 2 and. 3). Pinion l meshes with swinging gear 8 shown as adapted to engage drum gear Be on drum or web-roll shaft 9b on which the web drum 9 is mounted to turn freely in bearings 90 and 9d.

This drum 9 carries a web ll of transparent canvas on which the names of the stations appear consecutively at equally spaced intervals. The web runs over two cylindrical bars or rollers 44 arranged in a plane parallel to the plane of the drum axes and may be rolled from drum 9 on to a second drum l0 mounted to rotate freely in a similar manner parallel to drum 9. Below each drum, a spring 42 is mounted on a bracket 42a on the floor of the housing, which spring acts as a poles suitably connected by conductors I90 to 7 terminals of the motor. The switch may be closed by moving the handle I3 clockwise and thereby rotating shaft I4 to which the handle is secured. A crank I401 on'the opposite end of shaft I4 will turn a crank; shaft tfiiby; means; of a connecting link 45, the shaft being ecqentrically mounted in bearing 41 (Fig. 6). The free'end' ofgshaft. 46, is connected to themovah je blades. of witch i9 and n this; manner the swit h is clo ed: nd he. motor star e 7 A. pcrtionof shafit 4.6; aterid ;in an pposite di-. rection from. bearing 41: and. forms. a. crank I,I- w n n invsaid bearing and. carrying; atzits, oscillatable. end a rooved wheel.

. Onv drl-nnrshaftflb betwe n drum 3- and hearin 9d a cam wheel IE is mountedKFig. ,4) This. cam wheel engagesthe; grooveof wheel, t5. and. a

helical; tensionspring It; having one end: attached to'crank I1- and its opposite end: suitably. fastened to an anchorjtaa on the housingwall, urges Wheel-2 I5. into. contact. with the; periphery of-cam. wheel 65. A. portion of? said; peripherygis: cutaway so that during atfixeds part of each revolution roller I5; is. pulleda distance 7 toward; shaft. 9b. as; shown in. dotted lines in Fig; 4. .Theshaft. 46; is thus oscillated in a; direction: opposite to. thatv producedv by handle; I-3 and the switch. I19 is opened and motor I. stopped.

.At the corner of housing 513; diagonallyopposite: to. handle I3 a similar handle 3 I}. extends from saidyhousing, This handle; is: fixedon a. shaft.

e 33. which. is. rotatably mounted. in. a. bearing 32:

within the housing an'dwhichgcarriesat its. innerenda crank 3430011-I1E0l1d to. the movable blades. of a double throw, double pole. switch 3,0,,to .join, either-jaw 31911.01", 3,01). to the armatureconductors 3.00 for reversing: the, direction. of; armature currentof' motor I: to; reverse; its direction; ofrota-=- tion. (Fig. 'l) I V g 1 r The cam 36 ondriving shaft isishowm inz detailzin Fig. 2 and consists of: adisk having a notch in its: periphery parallel to.shaft.3,5... A-shaft 39: isoscillatably'mountedi in bearings 3.9a; behind; shafitfifiand parallel theretdin; th samelhorizontal nlane;.. Qn haft 3. worairms; 31k a! l ;4I a;IZ astened spring. 31,, the; end of whi ch; leans against the: periphery. of cam-96. 7 Army is mounted between gears 9a andf'lfla'. and. carriesfrotatably mounte at its oscillatihgfilpi er enda gear 8.

adapted to mesh, eithergeai? eager, ljflfaand' to constantly mesh; withp 1 on driving Shanta."

Whenthe operation of motor I'has been re= verse'diby means of switch30'; the rotation of shaft 35; asindicated by-the arrowsin Fig.3 t'o be" counterclockwise; becomesclockwiseas indi ca-ted in- 'Fig.=2. During the first revolution of sha t: 35;; the notch Mli'of-"cam; 39: engages. the; en n iniri v and throws.- it: into; the position 4:1 and: gear- .8: w .t e e st,be-oseillatedtandi thus;

21b against brake wheel 3 and fore described is as'follo'ws r Arm; 38;carries. at, its; ree mta lat:

position gear 8 in mesh drum gear I 0a to retate said drum in an opposite direction to released drum 9.

.Between drum 9: and bearing 90 a cam wheel 20 is mounted on shaft 9b (Figs. 1 and 8) to rotate with drum 9. A grooved wheel 24' is mounted on a crank shaft 22 and arranged so that the groove in its periphery is-in engagement withlthe periphery of cam plate 20. Shaft 22 is rotatable ina bearing 22c fastenedto the rear plate of housing 5fl and hastwo crank arms thereon indi: cated at'ZZa and 2219.. Arm 22a carries roller 24, and the free end of. the other arm 22b is connect- "ed to one end of a horizontal connecting rod 25a extends from side 'to side of the housing.

A. helical tension spring 23 has one end secured to an anchor 54 in the wall of housing and has its otherend connected to the arm 22a to urge said armand roller 24 towards the cam wheel 20. Connecting rod 25a is connected at its other end that of 7 to. acra-nk ziwhichforms part of a. horizontal V shaft; 29 mounted in bearings. 28 on. the rear wait ofthe; housing 5.8. 1 Atthe end of shaft 2a oppo'a site to' crank 25, a second crank 26; isiformed thereon rand extends. under} an angle therefrom and is. provided; with a 'cra-nkpi-n 2601. at its 7 parallel to; shaft 2.9;. 'lZhis: pin is mounted: in a loop 21a formed at the end of a metallic brake band 2] (Fig. 9). This brake. band is lined in'sitle with a suitable lining 211) which. surrounds brake wheel: 3 on worm. wheellshaft 4 and is pressed thereagainstwhen crankipin 26 is pressed down V wardly.

Cam plate 29 is cut tocorrespond inshape with a cam plate I26. so that when switch I 9 isopened by means; ot pl'ate l t the: roller isxsimultaneousiy pushed outward by spring 23 from reduced diame ter tothe full diameter of the periphery of cam plate 29: Connecting rod 25aisth'ereby pushed in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 8) crank "25 and shaft 29: are oscillated and crank pin '25! is pushed 'backward thereby setting brake lining of-sha fti kihstantly; a

' The elect-rie connection's Gen-11s station indica tor are the standard connections foraiiy revers stopping rotation v ible direct current seriesmotor and any further description appears to be superflucusr i l V The cooperation of the various parts hereto Whena carhaving-i the imprcveda station ind-i cater stands still at a station; the-- station "name appears in-thewindow"ofv the indicator'on web V H andi's illuminated bythe incandescent lamp I2. When the car'moves forward the operating handle I 3= outside of the car will ehgage one of the strikers 41' or lla erected for this purpose:

By means cums engagement, shaft M is escalated clockwise closing switch I 9=and starting motor- I' therebyrotating drum" 9- ahdca'nis LI 6 and 211. A portion of, web II iswound 011 9 from drum I0 and thenameofthe next station isdisplayed in the wmdtw. 52:. The lengthjor web II woun on roller 9 at'e'a'ch operation: die;

pendsonth ng h Qrthe rc rtherun diameter on cam I6. When. theneyv'stationname is.

nl ye r r na s ntoihe Qamdenr ss en and opens switch I-9- stopping the moton sim taneouslyroller- 2.4 i s;pressedoutward by cam; 2.0; and, thereby brakev 3.is set and-prevents. ovemzun. This pera icnisrepe edat thestazrt f:- earfrom. every: station until the: end of theJineis reached; 7 Before the.rehulin tripzisstantediinz the. opposite;

directiqniomtheiopposite track;.leuer handle at is 75" turned whereby reversing switch 30 is closed. This may be done by theconductor or automatically by extending shaft 33 to the outside of the car and by mounting handle 3| on the outside of the car wall with its end in-position to be struck by a suitable striker 41' or 41a mounted in its path. When handle 3| is actuated the drum which was idling before will then be driven by gear 8 which has automatically been placed in mesh with its drum gear by the action of reversing cam 36, spring 31 and lever 38.

The placing of striker arms at station platforms has tobe so arranged that when the car 54 is moving in either direction lever I3 is operated clockwise. For this purpose these strikers are arranged higher on the outgoing track than the return track to strike either the upper or the lower arm of handle l3. For example, as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 12, the lower arm of handle l3 may strike the striker arm 41a on the outgoing run, and its upper arm may strike the striker arm 41' on its return run. Of course, it

will be understood that these striker arms may be placed along the respective tracks either on the outside or inside as required.

Having thus described my invention, I want it to be understood that changes in details of construction may be made without departing from the principle of the invention and I desire to be limited only by the state of the prior art and the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A station indicator including a housing having a window in one of its sides, a pair of drums in said housing, a web on said drums having a part thereof in said window, electric motor operated means to rotate one of said drums and a cam fastened to said drum and a switch for starting and stopping said motor operated by said cam forming means to wind 2. fixed portion of said web upon said drum while unwinding it from the other drum.

2. A station indicator including a housing, an electric motor, a pair of drums in said housing, a web carried by said drums to be wound from one drum to the other, a spur gear on each drum, an oscillatable pinion mounted between said gears to engage either gear separately to transmit rotary motion to either one of said drums and means operated by said motor to oscillate said pinion for changing the direction of rotation of said drums.

3. In a station indicator a pair of rotatable drums, a web on said drums adapted to be wound from one drum on to the other, an electric motor of the reversible type, a shaft operated by said motor, an operating gear on said shaft, a gear on each drum adapted to be operatively connected to said operating gear by an idler pinion oscillatably mounted between said drum gears and a cam on said shaft forming means to oscillate said pinion to separate its mesh with the gear of one drum and place it in mesh with the gear of the other drum by reversing the rotation of said motor.

4. In a station indicator, a housing, an electric motor, a pair of drums in said housing parallel to each other, a web on said drums adapted to be wound from one drum on to the other, a shaft passing through one wall of said housing having a crank mounted thereon at its outer end, a switch in said housing connected to the terminals of said motor, means on said shaft for closing said switch,.a cam on one of said drums, a roller operated by said cams and means connecting said roller with said shaft for opening said switch. i

5. In a station indicator, a pair of rotatable 5 drums parallel to each other, a web on said drums adapted. to .be wound from one drum upon the other, a pair of cams adapted to rotate with one of said drums, an electric motor for rotating said drum, a brake for said motor, a pair of rollers, each roller mounted for operation by one of said cams, a switch for operating said motor, means operatively connected to one of said rollers and to said switch for operation of said motor by said switch and other means operatively 15 connected to the second roller for operation of said brake by means of the second cam.

6. In combination, a railway car having mounted therein a station indicator, a housing for said indicator, an electric motor and a pair 20 of drums within said housing, a web on said drums adapted to be wound from one drum on to the other by means of said motor, a switch in said housing, a shaft operatively connected to said switch extending through a wall of said housing 25 and through a wall of said car, a lever at the outside and of said shaft, a stationary support mounted outside of said car having a striker arm fixed thereon in the path of said lever forming means to operate said switch by striking said 30 striker arm when said car is in motion.

7. In combination, a railway car having mounted therein a housing, a station indicator comprising a pair of drums, a web on said drums adapted to be wound from one drum on to the other, a reversible motor operatively connected to one of said drums, a switch for reversing the rotation of said motor, a shaft operatively connected to said switch extending through a wall of said housing and through a wall of said car, a lever on the outside end of said shaft, a stationary support mounted outside of said car having a striker arm fixed thereon in the path of said lever forming means to operate said switch by striking said striker arm when said 45 car is in motion to reverse the rotation of said motor.

8. In combination, a railway car having mounted therein a housing, a device in said housing adapted to display consecutively on said housing a plurality of signs, a motor in said housing for operating said device, a pair of shafts extending from said device in opposite directions through opposite walls of said housing and through opposite walls of said car, a lever on each 55 of said shafts, stationary supports mounted on the outside of said car and a striker arm on each of said supportsin the path of movement of said levers and adapted to engage the same, one of said striker arms being adapted to start said 60 ,motor by engaging one of said levers, the other striker arm being adapted to engage the other lever to reverse the rotation of motor when said car is in motion.

9. A station indicating system for railways 65 comprising in combination with a stationary platform having a stationary protruding member, a movable web bearing station indicia in the car, means including a motor for actuating said web a predetermined distance and a member 70 protruding from the car and adapted to be struck by said stationary protruding member for starting said motor.

10. A station indicating device for railways including a movable web bearing station indicia,

and; mechanism for moving said weba; predetem mined distance, said mechanism including'a re.

versible motor, a train of gearing interposed; be tween the motor and web support, 5-"SWitt-21LIQE said; motor, a: switch. member protruding exteriqrly of the railway caradapted ta strike" a member on the station platform m closing said switch, and. anothei switch member protruding exteriorl yrnf the car adapted to be RA PH .BRINEY. i 

